Hello all and Happy New Year to those of you that have already welcomed 2014!! For the rest of us, I can’t believe another year has come to an end, bringing me to almost two full years of blogging and obsessing over nail polish, makeup, and other beauty products. (That is a lot of obsession!) It was also a year that brought me my own polish shade – more on that below.

To wrap up the year, I thought I would bring you some of my favourites from 2013. (Polishes in part 1, some of the other favourites will be in part 2 as this will be a picture-heavy post.)

How can I have a “favourites” list and not include my go-to nude/white alternative, OPI’s My Vampire is Buff? MVIB has quickly become a cult favourite, at least in the nail polish community, as many of us not only wear this beautiful bisque shade alone, but love to use it for nail art.

And speaking of nail art, this was the year I ventured into the somewhat terrifying “nail art” territory, and found that I can actually nail (sorry, couldn’t resist) some cute looks! Though hard to narrow down, my Top Ten Faves include MVIB and Essie The Girls are Out…

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I recently shared with you part 1 of Nubar’s My Sweet Escape collection, a gorgeous set of eight luxe and summery shades for Spring/Summer 2013. The collection includes bright cremes and creme pastels. I love the span of shades in this grouping, and have broken it up into two posts for you: the brights (here), and the blue/greens which I have for you today!

Here is the cool “travel bag” the collection arrived in:

Here are the gorgeous blues and greens of the collection for you to drool over!

Let’s start with Jaded, a light turquoise, reminding me of the colour of the ocean on a tropical beach, and one of my ultimate favourites of this set. Like the other Nubars I’ve experienced, the formula was leaning towards a crelly – a cream jelly – and I simply adore jellies. On the first coat it was a little sheer, as jellies tend to be, but the second coat levelled easily and provided perfect coverage. Enough reading; look at this polish that transports me to Bora Bora (well, in my mind anyway):

A close relative of Jaded is My New Obsession, though I think my two bottles were mislabeled and mine was labeled Dusk Till Dawn. 🙂 My New Obsession is a shade darker and a hint bluer than Jaded, making it a medium turquoise-blue. Formula on this was fantastic, and here are 2 coats over base coat, before adding top coat:

The above sun photo really emphasizes the teal in My New Obsession, whereas in artificial light it leans even bluer:

Is that not a perfect shade?? So wearable, and perfect for the rising temps!! And I love how Nubar included two “related” shades in this collection.

The final blue polish from My Sweet Escape is Dusk Till Dawn (which is the other mislabeled bottle so I was calling this the wrong name in my previous Ozotic post!). Dusk Till Dawn is a royal blue, though I hesitate to call it either bright or dark – in reality it is a perfect cerulean, and a touch darker than my camera insisted on capturing it. Here are two gorgeous, shiny coats over base coat:

Here is a picture of Dusk Till Dawn in sunlight:

Yet another wearable, gorgeous blue!! And best part of all? NON-staining!! (When I find blues or greens that do not stain, I jump for joy. Just today I was cringing at staining from another blue!)

Last but not least, Into the Wild, a muted emerald green. I am not always a green fan… I like certain greens and in small doses, but I think Into the Wild may be the polish to convince me to wear green on my tips! It’s a pretty Kelly Green, and now (oddly) I think of Grace Kelly whenever I see these swatches. Regal, beautiful, lady-like, just like Princess Grace. It truly is a spectacular colour, and like the others, was an amazing consistency. Here are two generous coats, pre-top coat, and this shade picture is extremely colour-accurate:

Is that not a pretty, summery green?

One more picture, this time direct light so it leans a touch lighter:

Check out my last combo utilizing the My Sweet Escape beauties here, Into the Wild with piCture pOlish Ariel’s Tale! (I am loving these Nubars, alone or as bases!)

Once again, I was quite impressed with Nubar. In my experience, their polishes have consistently delivered amazing shine and wearability, and this entire collection was the same. I love the variety of shades My Sweet Escape delivers, screaming summer, sun, and beach. If you are looking for summer and bright colours, you need My Sweet Escape.

Like all nubar products, “My Sweet Escape” Collection is free of formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP (phthalate), and is vegan and cruelty free. Nubar is available directly from Nubar’s online shop, from Nail Polish Canada, Harlow & Co. and other fine retailers.

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It’s piCture pOlish Thursday, and today I have for you another stunning Ozotic, one of the Beam polishes, #907!

Ozotic Beam is a collection of 4 gorgeous top coat-type polishes, “inspired by ‘reflecting luminous light beams’ hence the moonlight colours,” that at first glance all look similar: white glass flecks with different shades of reflection in each polish. The Beam polishes can be worn alone or over black for an exploding effect “on your nail, reinventing itself to light changing crystals – simply amazing! A magical transformation in appearance that you need to see to believe!” from the piCture pOlish store’s description. : ) And 907 is described as having green and blue sparks, though I also see violet reflections in this beauty!

You want to know what I decided to layer this over? I decided to live on the edge a little and go with a gorgeous, summery shade from Nubar’s new My Sweet Escape collection. Nubar’s Jaded is a light turquoise, the colour of the ocean on a hot summer’s day…

And Ozotic Beam 907 did not disappoint!! It truly exploded in a three-dimensional effect on my nails, sparkling softly, the glass flecks dancing both in the sun and out. All this at just one coat over 2 coats of Nubar Jaded:

I love how beautiful the effect is, even over a lighter polish!! This to me, is a perfect summer manicure!

Look at that shine! And that deep, multichromatic shimmer really makes this manicure look like the sea….

One more picture:

Do you love this as much as I do? I am utterly obsessed with Jaded and 907 together! And what should I layer this over next….?

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Today I bring you my second Ozotic Sugar, the first of which was Sugar 901, reviewed here. piCture pOlish added the Ozotic brand to their portfolio, and late last year, introduced the Ozotic Sugars, four polishes numbered 901 through 904, each inspired by “adding a tiny drop of food coloring to icing sugar – hence the sugary sweet looking colours.” A family of topcoat-type polishes, they range in shades from pink to yellow-green, and really are sweet-looking!

While Sugar 901 was a sugary pink duochrome, Ozotic Sugar 903 is an azure blue that shifts to a pinkish purple. The sparkling tiny duochrome glass flecks are what create the wow in the Sugar series, reflecting light in every direction possible, dancing in gorgeous harmony on your nails.

While I layered Sugar 901 over a blackened base, I wanted to play with 903. I finally settled on this beautiful cerulean base, Dusk Till Dawn, one of Nubar’s new My Sweet Escape collection. (And can that name be any more perfect??) If you know me, you know that blue is one of my favourite colours, even though I often shy away from it on my nails.

I think this may be the manicure to change my mind!!! Look at the incredible beauty of Ozotic Sugar 903 over Nubar’s Dusk Till Dawn!

That is just one coat of Sugar 903 over 2 coats of Dusk TIll Dawn.

Please tell me that is not dreamy?

Here is one more shot, this time in artificial light:

I am totally obsessed with the Ozotic Sugars, and can’t wait to get my hands on the other two! I think this combination may be my new obsession. 😉

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Happy Thursday!! I am so thrilled this is a shortened week and I get to have a long weekend… just what I need. I hope some of you get to enjoy a day off as well…or at least a beautiful weekend!

Today I have for you one of my favourite boutique brands, piCture pOlish, made in Australia! I have worn quite a few piCture pOlishes, some that I should probably still share on this blog, but I do have another first for you: my first piCture pOlish glitter polish. And a polish with such a cute name: Ariel’s Tale! I keep hearing “Under the Sea” in my head when I see the bottle. 🙂 Ariel’s Tale is a gorgeous turquoise glitter top coat in a clear base, composed of monochromatic tiny square and medium hex glitters. Simple and gorgeous!

I wanted to wear it over a dark base, so I headed for my A-England Lancelot, my go-to “black” (it’s actually a blackened red but I often use it in place of black due to its beauty and shine). This combo did not disappoint! I wore it as a slight glitter gradient. Here are two coats of Lancelot topped with Ariel on the tips:

I received so many compliments on this manicure!! The aqua of Ariel’s Tale is soft enough for an elegant, work-appropriate manicure, even on such a stark background. And it sparkled like diamonds on my tips!

For a completely different look, I paired Ariel’s Tale with Nubar’s Into the Wild, a beautiful muted emerald green (with its own post coming soon!).

And Ariel’s Tale looked spectacular!! Judge for yourself:

Look at the gorgeous turquoise slightly contrasting against the emerald green backdrop in the sun…

And here it is in the shade:

I just adore the way it sparkles like the ocean… twinkling under the sun…

I already have some more ideas for Ariel’s Tale, maybe wearing it over a light base… but which of today’s looks is your favourite?

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Happy weekend everyone! Here in the Great White North we are still waiting (and hoping) for Mother Nature to give us a break and send us spring, but today I bring you a few colours that will not only brighten up your nails, they will make you feel summer heat!

Ever since my first Nubar experience last year, I have fallen in love with Nubar’s glossy lacquers. And now Nubar has introduced My Sweet Escape for spring/summer 2013, a collection of eight bright, fun and summery shades; perfect for an escape of the mind. 🙂 They are creamy brights, quite a change from the deep shades of winter, and some of the pastels we have been seeing for spring. I love the diversity of this collection, and have broken it up into two posts for you: the brights, which you will see today, and the blue/greens.

This is the cool package the full set comes in, a little mini “travel bag,” complete with closure:

The first Bright shade is Forbidden Fruit, described as nectarine by Nubar. I see it as a light burnt orange shade that reminds me of caramel. I absolutely loved this shade and its colour base. It’s so different, it’s bright, it’s orange, but it’s a subtle, wearable orange. It also applied like a dream… quick-drying on the first coat, self-levelling and even coverage on the second coat. I will be wearing this colour a lot!

Here are two coats with base coat:

The next colour seemed almost like the older-sister-version of Forbidden Fruit; On The Radar is a gorgeous, gorgeous orangey-red that’s leans very red. This is such an elegant and classic shade – I refused to take it off! The application on this was perfection – it was a bit thicker than Forbidden Fruit and provided great coverage on coat one. And the SHINE!!!

Here are two coats of On The Radar in artificial light:

And in the shade:

Is that not a beauty?

Now on to the neon shades! First up is Resort Yellow, described as “lemon zest” by Nubar. What I liked about Resort Yellow was that even though I see neon yellow, it was highly wearable and a wonderful summer colour. I can see myself using this on pedis a lot this year. The formula was quite good considering my experience with neons; it was shiny, whereas most other neon-based shades I’ve worn have had a satin finish for some reason. It was a bit streaky, so I could have definitely gone for a third coat, but again, my experience with yellows has been that they tend to streak.

Here are two coats of Resort Yellow:

(Please ignore what appears to be blotchiness above. Lesson learned, watch for shadows and reflections when taking pictures!)

And here it is in shade:

It really does come across a lot more lemony once on and I love it!

The last colour I have for you is Sour Apple, an electric lime that wanted to moonlight as Resort Yellow at first glance. I actually did a double-take when I was editing this pic below, because I momentarily thought it was yellow. It’s a very pale lime neon, highly wearable, and a little better formula than Resort Yellow, more of a crelly (cream-jelly) and you know how I adore jellies!

I used two coats over base for the pics below. Look at that crazy shine! Here it is in the shade:

And under artificial light it explodes in green:

Next time, I will bring you part 2 of my Nubar review – the blue/greens!

Overall, I was once again blown away by Nubar. In my experience, their polishes have consistently delivered amazing shine and wearability, and this collection was no different. I love the variety of colours and varying levels of brightness. This collection screams summer, sun, beach, and that’s exactly what I needed. If you are looking for summer and bright colours, you need My Sweet Escape.

Like all nubar products, “My Sweet Escape” Collection is free of formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP (phthalate), and is vegan and cruelty free. Nubar is available directly from Nubar’s online shop, from Nail Polish Canada, Harlow & Co. and other fine retailers.

So which one do you like best?

~xo

(Products were provided for consideration and review. All opinions are my own.)